


A Ghost in the Dark

by That_1_Guy



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Angst, Arin Hanson - Freeform, Arin and Dan were once an item, Arin doesn’t believe in ghosts, Bullying, Comfort, Dan is a ghost, Depression, Egobang - Freeform, Flashbacks, Game Grumps - Freeform, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Murder, Past Relationships, Possesion, Ross O’Donovan - Freeform, Secret Relationships, Suicide, Suzy Berhow - Freeform, Suzy’s into the supernatural, dan avidan - Freeform, fan fiction, kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-08-23 01:12:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16609010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_1_Guy/pseuds/That_1_Guy
Summary: October. The month of ghosts and goblins and dressing up in scary costumes. But for some kids, this is the perfect time to talk to spirits.A group of friends had decided to head out on Halloween to an old storage unit with a ouija board and see if they could come into contact with anyone or anything on the other side. They were excited. This was going to be the best Halloween yet!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I know it is no longer Spooktober, but I wanted to write a spooky fanfic! (I really hope I finish this one—) also, I know that this first chapter is somewhat short and I’m sorry about that. These chapters don’t have consistent lengths. Hope you enjoy regardless!

October. The month of ghosts and goblins and dressing up in scary costumes. But for some kids, this is the perfect time to talk to spirits. 

A group of friends had decided to head out on Halloween to an old storage unit with a ouija board and see if they could come into contact with anyone or anything on the other side. They were excited. This was going to be the best Halloween yet!

Arin was at his locker, putting a few of his books away before heading to his next class. Just as he closed the metal door, he heard someone calling his name. He turned and his eyes landed on his friend Suzy. She was running towards him, a bright smile on her face. “Hey, Arin!” She says once she reaches him.  
“Sup, Suze.” Arin hums, smiling gently at the girl in front of him. “You still up for tonight? Going to Parkinson’s storage unit and talking to ghosts?” She asks, bouncing slight from excitement. 

Suzy was the one who had talked him and the others into doing this. She was into the paranormal and had managed to persuaded them into doing this with her. The group included Arin, Suzy, and their friend Ross. “Yeah. I’m still down. This is going to be a good night.” Arin chuckles softly, enjoying the girls enthusiasm. “So far Ross is still coming, so that’s good.” he chuckles again and Suzy’s smile brightens. 

“Awesome! Anyways, I gotta head to class, so I’ll see you this afternoon Arin!” the girl rushes off. Arin waves and heads off to his class.

Arin hums to himself as he walks, though he stops when he passes a bulletin board. He frowned as he looked at one of the flyers posted on it. There were all kinds of flyers, mostly for clubs or after school events, but one… one was different. It was a picture of a student and above it, in bold red letters, was the word “Missing”. It gave information as well, like his name and the last place he had been seen at, as well as a physical description. 6’2, dark curly hair, hazel eyes, wearing a shirt with either ‘Def Leppard’ or ‘Rush’ written somewhere on it. The kids name was Leigh Daniel Avidan, though most if not all knew him as Dan. 

Dan had last been seen at his home, but was declared missing after not returning home after twenty four hours. The police searched but couldn’t find him or a body if he had been killed. He had been missing for over three months and most thought he had died. 

Arin sighed, guilt making his chest tight. He wished he knew what happened to Dan. He had been one of the sweetest boys in school, though kids treated him horribly, mostly because of his religion and his ‘feminine’ first name. Rumors began to spread once Dan had been declared missing. Some believed he had been kidnapped, others thought he had killed himself and made sure it was somewhere where no one would find him.

Well, whatever the case was, the boy was gone and no one knew where he had gone to. 

Arin walked to class, trying to clear his mind and forget about the Dan thing. You’re going to spend the night with your friends, remember? He thought to himself. That seemed to calm him and a smile appeared on his face. This Halloween was going to be a good one. He was sure of it.

…

The school day came to a close and kids rushed out of the doors and back to their homes. Some of them were going out to parties or to spend time with friends, while three teens were heading to an old storage unit. 

Suzy had stashed her ouija board into her backpack so she wouldn’t have to stop by her house. One less trip, she told them. 

The three were walking together, Ross telling them about his day and how he had proved some kid wrong about a video game they had been discussing that had turned into a full blown argument. Suzy told them how she had a close call with one of the teachers telling the boys that the teacher had nearly confiscated her ouija board. She was thankful to have gotten off with a warning, promising to never bring it to school again. 

Arin’s day was nothing special, so he didn’t really speak up at first, not until Ross got his attention. “Arin, buddy. What did you do today?” The boy asks. “I dunno. Spaced out most of the day, doodled a bit. You know… the norm,” he shrugs. “I did notice that they haven’t taken down that missing poster for Dan yet.” Suzy sighs. “He’s been gone for three months… I hope he’s okay.” she shakes her head slowly. She was such a caring girl, so hopeful. 

“Yeah, same here. Never really got to know the guy, but he seemed super sweet.” Ross adds. 

Arin nods, a quiet sigh passing his lips as they continued to walk, a silence now spreading over them. Had he brought the mood down? He hadn’t meant too…

“I wonder if there really are any ghosts in that old place. Parkinson’s been empty for… god knows how long.” The aussie breaks the silence after a while and Suzy and Arin both nod. 

Arin was a bit of a skeptic. He was mostly doing this so he could spend time with his friends rather than his older brother and so he wouldn’t seem like some sort of pussy. “Why did it close in the first place?” Suzy asks, raising a brow. “Some guy died. Thought it was assumed to be an accident, though it was later confirmed to be a suicide.” Ross explains. Suzy’s brows furrowed and she frowned. “That’s terrible…” Ross nods, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. 

More silence. Just a lot of silence. The only sound being the groups footsteps on the ground and the occasional whistle of wind.

“We’re getting close guys, I can see the sign.” Arin spoke and Suzy put a smile back on her face. “I have a good feeling about this, guys. I think we’ll actually get something.” she hums happily. Ross and Arin exchange a look but nod. 

This was going to be a crazy night.


	2. Chapter 2

The three finally arrived at the storage unit. The doors and windows were boarded up, covered in vandalism. 

They had checked the place out earlier that October and found a way to get inside. There was a door that’s board was loose and was able to be moved, so the three teens used that to get inside the old building. It was dark and was covered with dust, the smell of mold and other earthy scents. 

Ross’ nose wrinkled and Arin’s brows furrowed. There were multiple rooms, most likely where the employees worked or where people used to keep their things. Maybe they’ll find some old goodies. 

They were currently standing in the main room, looking around. “Okay, so I brought flashlights and candles for later,” Suzy informs the boys. They nod. “Things are gonna get spooky!” She giggles and her words coax a gentle laugh out of Arin. 

He was about to make a comment to Ross, but when he looked, the aussie wasn’t there. “Ross?” he called. “I’m over here!” the boy called back, his voice echoing. Arin and Suzy saw their friend waving them down. He was already down the hall. How had they not heard his footsteps? 

The two head over to their friend. “There’s a lot of things in here. Guess the closing was a short notice and people had to leave their shit.” 

Ross disappears into one of the rooms. Arin peers inside and sure enough, there were multiple boxes and bins stacked inside the rooms. “I’d be pissed if I wasn’t able to get my things.” Suzy crossed her arms and looked around the old room. “I think people tried to come back for their things. I mean, I would.” Says Arin with a shrug, tucking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. 

Suzy left the room and began to explore the rest of them. “What’s this doing here?”

“Huh? Did you say something, Suze?” Arin asks. 

“Guys, come take a look.” Suzy calls. 

The boys walk out and find the room Suzy’s currently in. Inside, there was a bit of rope hanging from a bar in the room. It looked like whatever had been hanging there had been cut down. 

“That’s strange,” Arin commented and raised a brow. “Ross, did the guy who commited suicide here hang himself?” he asks the aussie. “No. They said he jumped from the second floor balcony.” He answers. “Besides, maybe that wasn’t even a noose. The person renting this one must’ve had something hung up, like a punching bag or some shit like that.” Suzy and Arin nodded. That sounded reasonable. 

Suzy pulled out her phone. “It’s 8:30.” she says. 

“Already?” Arin tilted his head. “Yeah. We left at like… four something and it took us quite a while to get here. This is far from the school, especially on foot.” Suzy explains, tucking her phone back into her pocket. “I’m gonna go ahead and get everything set up. The sooner we start this, the better.” She hums as she heads to the main room, removing her bookbag and unzipping it. 

“Isn’t it a bit early? Shouldn’t we wait for it to be like… three am or something? Isn’t that like… the witching hour or whatever it’s called?” Arin questions, to which Suzy giggles.   
“Yes, but we don’t have to start then. That’s just when we could get the most results. We just need to bust out the board and see what we can get and see if we can make it until then.” she tried to laugh ominously, but it just sounded rather goofy and the boys had to keep themselves from bursting out into a fit of hysterical laughter. Suzy pouts and the boys collect themselves. 

They watch intently as Suzy takes out her ouija board, as well as some candles and a match box. She lights a match and lit the candles. It gave off a nice light and made the area feel a tad bit more welcoming, though also rather eerie. Suzy takes out the planchette and holds it in her hands. She beckons the two boys over, who sit down around the board. 

“Alright. Now, this is to be taken very, very seriously. Don’t fuck around. Don’t move the planchette. Don’t leave the game without saying ‘goodbye’.” Suzy explains. Both Arin and Ross nod. 

Suzy nods as well and gently sets the planchette down on the ‘G’ on the board. “Rest your pointer and middle finger on the planchette.” she instructs. The all rest their fingers on the planchette. “We’re going to move it around in a circle three times, then we’ll ask the first question.” 

They begin to move the planchette in a clockwise motion, all three of them staring intently at the board. Once they had completed the three circles, Suzy speaks. 

“If there is anyone who would like to make contact with us, you may do so through this board,” she begins. “Now, is there anyone here with us?”

They wait. And wait. And wait. Until finally, the planchette slowly begins to move, hovering over the ‘YES’ in the top left corner of the board.

Arin looked at Ross. He had a feeling that the aussie had moved it. Besides, the man wasn’t very good at hiding things. The slight smile on his face gave him away. 

“What is your name?” Suzy asks. The planchette moves to four letters, spelling out the name ‘Alan’. Arin rolled his eyes. He knew this was Ross…   
“Alan, would you like to speak with us?” 

The planchette moved to ‘Yes’. 

At this point, Ross was beginning to snicker. Arin narrowed his eyes and Suzy looked at the aussie. “Ross… what the fuck did I say before we started this?” Suzy almost hissed, crossing her arms. Ross threw his hands up. “Sorry! Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. I promise I’ll take this more seriously.” he crossed his heart, though a smirk was present on his face. 

Suzy rolled her eyes and shook her head. She placed the planchette back of the ‘G’. They moved it in a clockwise circle and started again.

“If there is anyone who would like to make contact with us, you may do so through this board. I’ll ask again. Is there anyone with us?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry that the chapter is relatively short!


	3. Chapter 3

Ross began to fuck with the board again. Moving the planchette and making up names for ‘ghosts’ that weren’t even there. Suzy was starting to grow annoyed, threatening to leave them here while she goes home. Ross quickly apologized and they decided to try one last time. 

Arin was convinced that there was nothing paranormal here. It was just an old storage unit that some depressed guy died in. But that didn’t mean that there were any ghosts. He rested his index and middle fingers on the planchette, Ross and Suzy doing the same.

Suzy shot Ross a quick glare before speaking, saying the same words they had heard multiple times already.  
“If there is anyone who would like to make contact with us, you may do so through this board. I’ll ask again. Is there anyone with us?”

They waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. The planchette was still. Ross had finally listened. He wasn’t fucking with them anymore.

“Alright. I think we better wrap this up-” Arin stopped. 

The room suddenly felt… cold. Had it been cold when they first got there? No, he doesn’t remember it being cold. It hadn’t even been that cold when they were walking here. 

“Woah.” Ross looks around. Suzy’s brows knitted, a small frown on her face. “Is… is there anyone here? Anyone who would like to talk?” she asks. The planchette remained still. Arin sighed and removed his fingers from the planchette, standing up.

“This is silly. Let’s just go home. It’s getting late anyways.” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “What? No! We may have finally gotten something! A chill usually means there’s a spirit nearby!” Suzy says. “Yeah, Arin. Just stay for a little bit longer? Please?” Ross asks, pouting like a small child that wanted their parent to buy them some sort of toy. Arin sighed heavily. 

“I’m going home. Tell me if anything hap-” he stopped as he watched the planchette fly out from under Ross and Suzy’s fingers and over to a wall, as if someone had thrown or pushed it forcefully. 

Arin stared at the planchette that was across the room. “What the fuck…?” he mumbled. “Okay… okay, um… I’m gonna go get it.” Suzy stands and walks over, carefully picking up the piece and bringing it back, setting it back down on the board. 

Arin remained standing as Suzy placed her fingers back on the planchette. “Is there someone here?” she asks almost hesitantly.

Ever so slowly, the planchette moved to ‘Yes’.

“I didn’t fucking do that… what the fuck.” Ross mutters, scooting away from the board and Suzy. 

“Guys, put your fingers back on the planchette. We may have actually gotten something.” Suzy says, a bit of hope twinkling in her eyes. Arin was reluctant, but he eventually sat back down, resting his fingers back on the piece, Ross doing the same. 

“What’s… what’s your name?” Ross asks, his voice rather meek and quiet. 

The planchette began to move. It moved to the letter ‘D’, but nothing else. 

“Your name starts with a D?” Suzy asks, to which the planchette moved to ‘Yes’ in response to the question. Everyone nodded slowly. The chill was growing stronger, as if someone was slowly turning an air conditioner to the highest setting ever so slowly. Arin began to shiver, and he was wearing a hoodie. This was fucking insane. This was fucking insane! 

“I-I need a break… Like, now…” Ross mumbled quietly. Suzy nodded and they moved the planchette to ‘Goodbye’ before removing it from the board. Ross immediately stood up. “Okay… was that real? Was that fucking real?” he asks. Suzy nodded slowly. “I think so… I think that was real, Ross.” 

Arin also stood up. He needed some air, so he headed over to where they had entered, opening the makeshift door and stepping outside. The sky was dark, small stars dotting the sky. There was barely any light so the stars appeared to be extra bright because of said lack of light. He sighed heavily. That couldn’t have been real… It just couldn’t be. 

But now that he was outside he felt so much warmer. There was no chilling breeze out here. None at all.

Then how did it get so cold inside the building? He tried to shake the question away, but it was still there in the back of his mind and he couldn’t seem to shake it away. “It’s not a ghost. Ghost’s aren’t fucking real… get it together, Hanson.” he whispered to himself. 

He honestly just wanted to go home, lay down in his bed and play some video games or binge watch a show on Netflix or some shit like that. But his conscious was against that idea completely. He couldn’t just leave his friends here like that. That would be a dick move. So he took in a few more deep breaths before re-entering the chilly building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this has been enjoyable so far!


	4. Chapter 4

Ross was still trying to process everything that had just happened. He was honestly shocked a tad bit scared. Suzy was trying to stay as calm as physically and mentally possible. This was real. This was fucking real. She was holding the planchette close to her chest, a frown on her lips as she stared at the wall that the piece had been slid into. What or who had done that? Why was it so fucking cold in here? There were so many questions that needed answers.

“D… D… D…” Suzy kept mumbling to herself, as if trying to figure out what this entity’s name was.

Arin was pacing, trying to think logically. But his brain was practically fried, still shaken over the fact the planchette had been shot out like that when they had been touching it so delicately. What could’ve done that? What in the fucking world could’ve done that?

“W-We should try again. See if we can get more answers.” Suzy says after a long period of silence.

“Try again? Suzy, are you fucking serious?” Ross asks, still rather freaked out. The girl nods. “Yeah. I’m serious.” She places the planchette onto the ‘G’. Arin sighs and sits, resting in fingers on it and Ross doing the same after some hesitance. They did three clockwork motions before Suzy spoke.

“If there is anyone who would like to make contact with us, you may do so through this board.” Suzy spoke loud and clear. “D, if you are truly here with us, please give us a sign.”

They wait. Everything’s quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet.

**_BANG!_ **

The teens jump as the sound of a box toppling over echoes through the building. Arin stands and goes to look. A cardboard box had fallen over in the room where the rope was hanging, the contents inside strewn about the ground. “Holy fuck…” he breathes as he picks up an old plastic cup that had rolled out of the box. There were more cups, plates, picture frames, utensils, and more random items laying all over the floor.

Arin picked some things up, setting them aside. As he did, he didn’t notice the faded piece of lined paper hidden under some boxes.

He was reaching for a picture frame, just about to grab it before pricking his thumb with a shard of glass. “Fuck!” He exclaims, instinctively sticking his thumb into his mouth before examining the small wound. He cursed under his breath before wiping the small bead of blood on his jeans.

He makes his way out of the room and back to the main room where Suzy and Ross are located.

“A box fell. I don’t know how. Maybe there’s a raccoon or something in here.” Arin says. He raised a brow when the two don’t respond. “Guys?” He looks at them and… their eyes are wide with pure terror. Arin feels his heart sink. They’re staring at a wall…

Arin slowly looks at where they’re staring and…

Oh god. Oh my god…

A boy, about their age was standing there. His face pale, eyes glazed over and gray, his throat coated in dried blood and rope burns, a rope hanging from his neck like some sort of necklace, his clothes covered in dirt and mold. His head of dark curls were tangled and matted, twigs, rocks, and clumps of mud stuck in his hair. His mouth was open in a silent scream, his pale cheeks damp with tears.

The longer Arin started, the more dread he felt. And then, in the blink of an eye, the boy was gone.

“Oh my god… oh my god… oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Ross exclaimed. “What the fuck was that?!”

“Danny.”

“What?” Suzy looks up at Arin. “Wh-What did you say, Arin…?”

“Dan,” Arin’s voice was nothing more than a whisper. “That was Dan. It… it had to be.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter subtly references Self-Harm! Just a quick warning!

“Dan? Dan Avidan? The kid that went missing three months ago? How could that’ve been him?” Ross asks.

“I don’t know! I don’t fucking know, Ross. It looked like him. It fucking looked just like him.” Arin responds, his body tense and his mouth dry. “And besides! The… the… the whatever it’s called moved to ‘D’ when we asked its name.” he quickly adds. Suzy’s brows furrow.

“But… if that was Danny,” she paused to take in a shaking breath. “That means he… he killed himself. Did you see the noose?” she asks. “Yeah, I recall it.” Ross frowns. “Jesus Christ…” he shakes his head slowly.  
“Arin? Are you okay?” Suzy questions.

Arin’s hands were shaking and his face looked rather pale. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a quiet whimper. “Arin? Dude? What’s going on?” Ross stands, worried about his friend. He wasn’t prone to having panic attacks, so this was odd. “Arin?”

“...It’s my fault.”

“What? What did you say, Arin?”

“It’s my fault. This is my fault…! This is my fault!” Arin exclaims, tangling his hands in his hair. “Dan killed himself and it’s all my fucking fault!”

“Arin, no. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t cause this.”

“Yes I did!” Arin’s eyes were now glassy, tinted pink from unshed tears. He sighed. “Guys… there’s something I have to tell you…” he hugged himself. Suzy and Ross both carefully walk over to their friend. “What is it, Arin? We’ll listen.” Suzy rests her head on her friends shoulder.

“If you say that you fucked Dan, I swear-”

“Ross! Shut up, please? For a minute?” Suzy hisses, and the aussie quickly silenced himself. Arin sighed again, the sound being rather shaky. “We didn’t fuck… but…” he bit his lips. “We did date.”

The two were silent. They had never learned this. Dan and Arin had dated at one point? When? How? What happened? Why hadn’t they been open about it? There were so many questions…

“We dated for about… I dunno… six months? We kept it a secret…”

“Why? Why didn’t you tell us, Arin? Don’t you trust us?” Suzy asks, a frown on her lips.

“I don’t know! I just…” Arin sighed. “I didn’t want to tell anyone.” he rubbed his arm, his head down in shame. “Dan and I got into a pretty heated argument and… well… we broke up. And he was already in such a dark fucking headspace and I just had to go and make things worse.” Arin growls, clearly upset with himself. “A week later, he goes missing. And now I know that he fucking killed himself and I just... fuck… it’s my fucking fault, Suze.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t cause this,” Suzy rests her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You didn’t make him do it.”

“I was a reason. I was a fucking reason, Suzy. He loved me and I pushed him away when he needed me most.” Arin forcefully removes Suzy’s hand from his shoulder. He then sighed. “But… I do want to talk to him one more time so… let’s continue with the ouija shit.”

Suzy and Ross smile just slightly, though it’s cloaked with sadness. They sit down around the board and place their fingers on the planchette. Suzy repeats the famous phrase and they move the piece in a clockwise motion. Time to talk to Danny.

Arin zones out for most of the questions asks, getting lost in his own head and thinking of the times he had shared with the curly haired boy. The memories were bittersweet, but Arin enjoyed thinking back on them every once and awhile.

…

Arin was slowly making his way over to the boy sitting by himself in the cafeteria, reading a book that Arin couldn’t see the name of. He wanted to ask the boy a question. He took in one more deep breath, his confidence at an all time low as he creeped towards him. When he finally reached him, he opened his mouth to speak, but the boy looked up at him before he could even say something, a soft smile on his face. He put a bookmark in his book and set it aside.

“Hi,” he hums.

“H-Hey. Uh… I um… I wanted to ask you a uh.. A question.” Arin stammered.

“Okay. Ask away.” The boy, Dan, rests his hands in his lap his gaze fixed on Arin and a smile on his lips.

“Okay, um… so… I just wanted to know if… if you’d like to… I dunno… maybe go on a date with me?” Arin said the last sentence in one breath, making it sound rushed and quick. Arin waited and… Dan was grinning.

“Sure! I’d love to.” Dan spoke, his hazel eyes glowing. A smile spread across Arin’s own face. “Wait, really?” he beams. Danny nods. “Yeah! Just give me a time and place and I’ll be there.” he hums happily. “A-Awesome! Okay! Here’s my number, I’ll text you the information.” Arin was overjoyed. He was going on a date with Dan Avidan! Fuck yes!

“Okay. I’m excited for our date.” Arin nods and begins to walk off, Dan waving to him as he walked away.

Tonight was going to be amazing!

…

One date led to two, then three, then they were officially dating. Arin had chosen not to tell anyone. He wasn’t ready to come out yet and Dan understood completely. They dated secretly, sneaking kisses and hand holds, just the little things that made the two boys smile.

Arin wanted to help and support Dan. He knew the boy was going through a rough point in his life. He was being bullied rather badly. Kids calling him things like ‘twig’ and ‘little girl’. Dan had openly admitted to hating his first name, ‘Leigh’, because of how feminine it was and kids used it to their advantage.

Danny was always trying to be nice to everyone and everything, feeding stray cats, watering the flowers and other plants in the school garden, bringing a whole bag of snacks and handing them out to the kids who didn’t have lunches, talking to people who were going through a rough time and giving them any advice he could, giving up his own seat just so someone could sit down. He was the sweetest boy in school, and yet people had mixed opinions about him.

Dan was the boy who would give up his seat just so you could sit down. He was the boy who didn’t care if he didn’t eat lunch, as long as someone else was fed. He was the boy who would hug anyone having a bad day.   
He was the boy who would was depressed because of what other kids said. He was the boy who would distract himself with music and studying. He was the boy who would secretly cry and break down in the boys bathroom. He was the boy who wore long sleeves to hide his dark deeds, the deeds that Arin tried to convince him to stop.  
He was the boy who was driven over the edge.  
He was the boy who killed himself.

At least… that’s what everyone thought.

…

It was a late night and Arin was over at Dan’s house. The night had been fine, calm, until Dan asked Arin a question that had been bugging him for sometime now.

“Hey Arin?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you ever going… going to tell anyone about… us?” The curly haired boy asks hesitantly.

“Yes, just not yet.”

“Then when? You’ve said that for months, Arin…”

“I will, Dan, just not yet.”

“But when?” Danny stood. He was getting tired of this. He had asked Arin this question on multiple occasions and everytime he got the same answer. He was getting angry, annoyed, and sad…

“I don’t know when, Danny! Can you stop pushing it?”Arin exclaims. Danny’s eyes widened when Arin raised his voice. He fought back tears. He could not cry right now.

“I just want to know Arin. You’ve said this so many times. I want to be able to show my boyfriend some affection in public. I want to be able to hold his hand whenever I want or need to. But I can’t!” The older of the two was clearly upset. His eyes were glassy and his bottom lip was trembling, as well as his hands.

Arin stood, he was getting angry now. “I don’t want to do that yet! I don’t! So stop pushing it!”

Danny felt warm tears rolling down his cheeks. “Well if you don’t want that then maybe we should just break up!”

“Fine then! Lets break up!”

Silence.

Dan was quiet, eyes wide, hand shaking, tears falling from his eyes.

“O-Okay… l-lets break u-up…” his voice broke as he looked down, rubbing his arm slowly. Arin turned and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him, leaving a sobbing Dan by himself with his dark, dark thoughts…

…

“He went missing a week after…” Arin sniffles, trying to dry his eyes. “And now I know that he… he k-killed himself. And it’s all my fault. I drove him to do it. He was already at a dark place and I had to make it worse by breaking up with him in his time of need. He needed me and… and I didn’t give him what he needed…” Arin’s voice broke as he told this story to his friends.

Both Suzy and Ross wore a frown. “Arin-” Suzy started.

“Don’t.” Arin hissed through gritted teeth. “Don’t even start.”

Suzy sighs. “I was just going to say I was sorry and that if you want, we can see if we can talk to Danny and you can try and apologize. Only if you want to.”

Arin was reluctant, but he eventually nodded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “Sure.”

They all sat down around the board and started the game.

Arin’s mouth opened to speak.

Everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was depressing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback chapter that also involves attempted suicide and murder

As the game started, Ross and Suzy turned to look at Arin, waiting for him to begin speaking. But… he was silent. His eyes staring off, his mouth hung open.

“Arin? Dude, are you okay?” Ross asks, tilting his head to the side. He didn’t respond. Arin then lied back and his body began to convulse.

“Shit! Holy fuck, Arin!” Suzy exclaimed and her and Ross rushed over to their friends side. Arin’s eyes were rolled back, face pale, his body twitching and some sort of foam spilling from his jaws. It looked almost like the results of an overdose, but Arin had no drugs on him. No one did, and they hadn’t seen him take anything. What the fuck was going on?

“Arin! Fuck, Suzy, what the fuck do we do?!” The aussie exclaims, clearly panicked. “I-I don’t know!” Suzy took out her phone and tried to call someone, her parents, 911, anything, but nothing. There was no service when there had been about an hour ago. This is bad. This is fucking bad.

The two continued to scream and tried to resuscitate their friend.

Arin still wouldn’t move besides the occasional twitching.

He was seeing something… watching something unfold before his very eyes.

…

Arin looked around. He was in the storage unit but… he couldn’t see Suzy or Ross. “Guys? Suze? Ross? Where are you?” he called, his heart beginning to pound.

Where were they?

He was about to call out for them again when he heard a low curse and some sniffles.

Arin chewed on the inside of his cheek and slowly began to walk towards where the sound seemed to have come from. He looked and… he saw… he saw Danny.

He was inside that one room that the rope had been in… and the rope was hanging there and it was…

Oh god.

It was a noose. Dan really had killed himself…

Danny was sniffling, tears rolling down his cheeks and staring down at his feet, as if trying to collect his thoughts. He lifted his head and grabbed hold of the loop of the noose. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath which would seemingly be his last.

Just as he was about to place the loop over his head, he heard the sound of voices and footsteps. Shit! It was police or his parents, it had to be.

Arin watched as Danny walked away to peer out into the main room. As Dan walked away, Arin sneaked into the room he had just been in and saw that piece of lined paper. It was a note. He carefully picked it up and began to read the writing on it.

  
_Hey, this is Danny. I don’t know when or if anyone will find this but I just thought it would be appropriate to write this. So, if you haven’t figured it out already, I felt like living was too much of a pain, and so I killed myself. I had gone through enough and so I have decided to end my life. I no longer find a purpose in this world, so, this seemed like the next best option. I tried and tried and tried for so long to keep pushing forward, take my medication, play it off as ‘Fine’, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m tired of wearing a mask. So. Fucking. Tired. So I’m going to sleep. I’m going to sleep and when I wake up, everything will be better. I don’t have anymore space so I guess this is goodbye._

Tears dropped onto the paper as Arin read the depressing note. He sniffled and dried his eyes, suddenly jumping when he heard low voices. He walked out and saw Danny cowering behind a wall, staring into the main room with wide eyes. Arin gazed out and there were three men standing there, all talking with low gravelly voices.

“Check the place. See what you can find.” The tallest man says to the other two who nod.

Dan stared, eyes wide with fear. He tensed when he locked eyes with the eyes of the robber. He smirked. “Hey there, little buddy,” He hums, his voice low. Danny froze, his breath catching in his throat. Arin would’ve thought the man was addressing him since he was standing in the middle of the hall, but he had learned that no one could see him. “What’re you doing in a place like this? Surely not looting.” The man walked over when the boy didn’t respond. He looked into the room Danny had been in and his expression seemed to soften.

“Oh. You were going to hang yourself, hm?” He looked at Danny. The boy teared up and slowly nodded. “Well,” the man kneeled down. “My name is Chris and I’ll tell you what. My boys and I will help you…” he fell silent and his eyes darkened, “With your suicide…”

“Wh-What?!” Dan exclaimed, eyes wide with fear. His fear of death had quickly returned when he felt people grabbing him by his waist and holding his arms. He flailed and kicked, screaming and yelling. But these men were large and strong.

“Stop it! Let go of me! Stop!” Danny screamed as one of the men slipped his head through the loop of the noose.

“Bye-Bye, little buddy.” Chris smirked. “Let him go.”

The other two men let go of the boy and the rope constricted around his throat, like a boa curling around its prey. Squeezing and tightening with each movement of his body. He choked, gasping, gagging, scratching desperately at his throat until his fingers were raw and bloody. Meanwhile, the men watched him struggle as his breath left his body with every second that went by. His vision began to fade, his gasping stopping and falling silent as he slowly lost energy. His arms falling to his sides, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth, his eyes rolling back. He went still.

He had died.

“Cut him down and bury him. No one will know he was even here.” Chris commanded.

The scene faded to black and Arin was left to just… stare. Silent. Blank. Had that really just happened? It… it really had… Danny had been going to kill himself but had been murdered during the process…

The tears began to flow. His knees felt weak and so he collapsed to the ground of this vacant space, crying and crying until his chest and stomach ached.

“Arin?”

The brunette’s head shot up when he heard his name be uttered by a familiar voice.

“Danny…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter features self-harm!

There. Standing in the empty space. Was Dan. His eyes clouded, his skin pale, hair matted and sprinkled with dirt, his stained clothes, and that loose rope around his neck. 

The curly haired boy walked over to Arin, kneeling down and smiling softly at him. “Hey…”

“Danny… Danny… Oh g-god…” Arin sobbed, his face covered with his hands as hot tears of guilt and shame rolled down his cheeks. “I-I’m s-so so-sorry!”   
The older smiled sadly before wrapping his cold arms around Arin’s shivering frame. “Th-This is all my… m-my fault. I sh-should have been the-there for you, but I wasn’t! I was s-self absorbed and I c-couldn’t see your pain! I couldn’t- couldn’t see how you were s-suffering because of me!” 

Danny shook his head. “No… I should be the one apologizing. I was pushing you. I should’ve been patient. I’m sorry.” Arin hugged the boy back as soon as he started speaking, holding onto his dirty jacket tightly and not daring to let go since he knew this would be the last time he would see the boy he had loved so dearly for a long, long time. 

Dan pulled away from the hug a bit to gently press his lips against Arin’s, the brunette quickly returning the kiss with no hesitation. Danny’s lips were so cold and dry, instead of being warm and soft. But Arin didn’t care. He was kissing Danny again. He held onto his forearms tightly, making him think about the times he would clean the boys arms after he would harm himself. 

“You need to stop this…” Arin had said, to which Dan just sighed. “I don’t know if I can.” he mumbled in response, hissing in pain as Arin rubbed peroxide into the wounds and watched white foam bubble up from them, cleaning the bacteria inside. 

“You’re going to get an infection. You could cut too deep… you could die…” Arin frowned deeply and his lover just shrugged. 

“Let’s… Let’s just stop talking about it. Okay?” He would always say and Arin would just nod. 

As he kissed the spirit of his lover, the boy rolled up his own sleeves. Danny pulled away and frowned, brows furrowed. “Arin… Big Cat, why did you do this…?” he mutters, for Arin’s own arms were littered with bright red lines. The younger sniffled. “I just couldn’t f-forgive myself once you went missing. I knew I had caused it, or had at least been a factor, and so… I did this.” he lowered his head in shame. 

Dan pressed his cold lips to the slices, kissing each one gently like Arin had done for him so many times in the past. “Don’t follow me.” he whispered.”

“What?”

“Don’t follow me, Arin. Please. Keep living. Don’t make the same mistake I did, or, at least tried to do. I beg of you.” there was a pleading look in Dan’s clouded eyes, a silent beg. Arin nodded, resting his forehead against Dan’s. “I promise you, Danny. I’ll go in my own time.” 

Dan smiled sadly, pressing a quick kiss to Arin’s lips. “Good.” he hums.

They stayed like this for who knows how long. Just holding each other, sneaking quick kisses. They had missed each other so much…

“I’m going to leave you now. Go home. Keep living. Tell my parents about me and what happened. Tell the police. Please, Arin.” The boy nodded. “I will. I promise. I promise, Danny.” He sniffled. He didn’t want his love to leave him again. 

“You see me again soon,” Danny must’ve sensed his reluctance. “I love you Arin. I always have and always will…” 

“I love you too, Daniel… so much.” 

They shared one last kiss before Arin’s eyes shot open, gasping for breath and shooting up. He gripped his chest tightly and Suzy and Ross jumped.

“Arin!” they said in unison. “You’re okay!” Suzy quickly hugs him and Ross follows suit. Arin chuckles softly. “I’m not gonna leave you guys that easily.” he hums. He could still feel Dan’s cold lips on his and it was refreshing. Everything is going to be okay. He knew it.

…

They left the storage unit and after a few days of recovering, Arin went to Debbie and Avi, telling them of their sons murder and even giving them his suicide note. The authorities were called and though it took some searching, they managed to find the men responsible for Dan’s death.

Arin had confessed to his parents about dating Danny and his self-harming habit, and they embraced him in a tight hug and a therapy session was booked not long after.

Things were going back to normal.

Arin was getting help now. Seeing his therapist every other week and telling her about what was going on, how he was feeling, how his progression of not cutting was going. Things were going good. It took some time and effort, but it was working.

…

The police found Dan’s body in a shallow grave and took it to be autopsied. 

Arin had heard about this on a news broadcast. He was thankful that they had found his body so he could have a proper burial. He wanted that for him. He deserved it.

An assembly was held at their school talking about Dan and suicide awareness. Arin watched multiple faces go pale and heads lower in guilt and shame.

The school started a fundraiser so they could help the Avidan family with the funeral and anything else they might need. This was good. This was okay. 

…

He saw Danny in his dreams. They would talk. Arin would tell him about his day and about his recovery process. He’d also tell him about his parents and sister, making sure he knew that they were okay. Danny would listen, the Kind smile on his face as he did. He could listen to Arin all day. 

They would talk until the sun rose and Arin would have to get up, but he’d always be back that night. 

Arin still missed Dan greatly. He missed holding him, kissing him… and yes, he could speak with him and do all these things in his dream, but it wasn’t the same. It would never be the same and he realized that. And that was okay. 

At least he still has him. At least he lives on in his heart.

That’s all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I actually finished writing a fan fiction! I didn’t know I could do that! 
> 
> I know there’s only 7 chapters, and I know the ending may not seem very satisfying to some, but I think it turned out good. I may go back at some point and add more things, but for now, I’m going to end it like this.  
> I hope you enjoyed reading ‘A Ghost in The Dark’! It was super fun to write!  
> Have a good day/night!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you’ve enjoyed! Once again, sorry it was super short...


End file.
